Fresh out of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, International Ukulele Contest in Hawaii winner Sho Humphries is no stranger to the four strings. From playing shows in and around their hometown Austin, Texas, to posting originals and covers to the internet from a young age, at 22 years old, Sho already has 13 years of experience honing their sound.

Originally purely a ukulele instrumentalist, Sho has since taken up singing and songwriting in recent years to further widen their horizons, exploring a sound somewhere between their Austin rock roots and the folk and pop they have immersed themselves in over the past few years. Follow their socials or visit their website, shohumphries.com, to see what they are up to next!

Sho Humphries released their debut album, Making Summer Memories, in 2017, a collection of exploratory solo ukulele compositions each seeking to maximize the sound possibilities of the ukulele. Taking inspiration from players like Jake Shimabukuro, Sho continued by posting full-length acoustic ukulele solo arrangements to YouTube, often of unexpected genres such as classic rock. Inspired by the unapologetically creative music and arts scene in their hometown Austin, Texas, Sho learned to perform at 100%, growing into the old adage “the Sho must go on.”

In 2019, after being gifted a modest home recording setup, Sho began exploring multi-track recording and production, trying out new techniques with Instagram and YouTube short videos. This led to two collaborative singles in 2020, “Love You! (ft. Evan Kolvoord)” and “Digital Summer (w/ Cere),” both featuring full productions. Sho followed up with their vocal debut, “Dream Again” EP released in 2021, featuring two new originals and two re-recorded songs from “Making Summer Memories.”

2021-2025 has been a whirlwind for Sho. After receiving a scholarship opportunity to study at the Berklee College of Music, Sho took some time off from releasing music to study for a Bachelor’s in Songwriting, collaborating and co-writing with countless other creatives and honing their own voice and sound combining rock roots with a newly acquired appreciation for folk and pop.

Sho has since traveled and performed around the United States and in Japan, both as a solo act and as a part of larger groups, like with folk super-group Catfish in the Sky or with frequent collaborators Tyler Donkoh-Halm and I.You.She. With an invitation to the KYUke Fest in Lexington, Kentucky, as well as an invitation to put on a workshop for their hometown meetup, the Austin Ukulele Society, Sho dove headfirst into the world of workshop teaching, delivering a variety of workshops on how to advance past the beginner stage, one simple concept at a time.

In the months since graduating from Berklee, Sho has relocated to LA to put the finishing touches on their upcoming work, as well as explore a budding collaboration with ukulele company Ohana Music. Follow their socials or visit their website, shohumphries.com, to see what they are up to next — which, of course, includes the Las Cruces UkeFest!